Sunday, December 11, 2011

Fishing trip #1, 12/11/11

The first fishing trip of winter was really just about putting the boat into the water for the first time since last May, and also trying out the new fishfinder and how it worked on the water. Wanting to take things easy for this outing, I decided to put in at Florence Harbor located on Pickwick Lake, and simply troll around the marina filled with boats to see what was around them. It was a beautiful sun-filled day, but still just below 50 degrees outside.
Water surface temperature was 50 degrees also....


Here's a picture of Oneal Bridge that crosses the river, and all of the riprap (stones)in the foreground that I really thought would have potential for holding fish. The fishfinder indicated a sunken treetop on three consecutive passes in this location, and although I fished the area pretty hard - no fish were taken from the spot.



My stringer for the day consisted of a nice bluegill, largemouth bass with it's dorsal fin ripped off by something, and of course this drum that was thrown back in. This drum weighed at least 5 lbs., and boy are they some real fighters...
Fighting this dude with a 10 foot pole and 6 lb. test line was pretty intense, but one just has to take their time with landing it.

What was learned from the day? That I really needed to read the user manual for the fishfinder, because I was really struggling with getting it set right. Oh well, at least everything worked - and the only problem that popped up was a leaking fuel line that was promptly repaired out on the water. Tools kept in the dry storage bin of the boat are a necessity to have, because you never know when a problem will arise.

Anyway, hopefully the next trip will bring with it better results....

Jeff

5 comments:

  1. Not bad for the first outing, nice crappie picture at the top of your blog.

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  2. It looks like you had a great day! Yes, reading manuals is usually a good thing!

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  3. Kris - it'll take some learning, but I expect things to get better.

    Robin - I'm the world's worst at not reading the instruction manual for something.

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  4. Hi Jeff, I was happy to see this new link on your gardening blog. I miss you and hope you are doing ok.

    I used to love to fish. I was a tomboy growing up and my favorite thing to do was hike the mountains surrounding my home, follow a stream, and fish for brook trout. It was just me and my grandparent's dog, Cookie in the deep woods. So peaceful. My family also summered on a lake that was rarely fished. It was fun to take the boat out and drop a line. No fancy fish finding equipment then though.

    I am looking forward to reading about your fishing experiences on this blog.

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  5. Hey, Rachel. I just try to make it through each day. Some are much more difficult than others, as you might expect.
    Anyway, your childhood fishing experiences sound like a fisherman's dream.
    My next trip should take place over the Christmas weekend, and hopefully will yield some crappie this time.

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